Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based design firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, will be the judge for the new HOW Logo Design Awards competition. Sponsored by HOW Magazine, the leading creativity, business and technology magazine for graphic designers, the competition has a new submissions deadline of December 15, 2009.

All entries must have been produced between July 1, 2008 and December 1, 2009. There are no specific categories for designs to be submitted and work entered may have been created for real world clients, as student class assignments or just for fun. The fee for each entry is $30. Submissions are to be made online through the HOW Logo Design Awards website.

The 10 winners will be featured on the HOW website, get $150 worth of HOW books and receive a 1 year subscription to HOW magazine. In addition, a graphic will be provided for posting on websites, blogs and/or online portfolios announcing a winners' status.

In January, Fisher was named one of design industry publication Graphic Design USA’s “People to Watch in 2009.” In 2008, Jeff Fisher LogoMotives was recognized as one of the top 100 U.S. home-based businesses by the web presence StartupNation.

Thanks to all who participated in my HOW Magazine live DesignCast "How to Survive as a Freelance Designer." During my hour-long presentation I mentioned a number of additional resources. As promised, I'm posting links to those sites, blog entries and books:

[Over the 30+ years I've worked professionally as a designer, interesting side stories have come up about my identity designs. This is one of an ongoing series of "Logodotes" - anecdotes about my logo designs.]

In the summer of 2009, I was very sad to learn of the passing of one of my favorite, and most fun, clients. Cecilia Murphy was one-of-a-kind and a Portland institution. It made me smile when, in doing one of the newspaper's "Life Story" features, The Oregonian began the article with "Cecilia Murphy lived by the unofficial motto "'more is more.' Less was not for her."

In that same newspaper article was the minor mention: "She had a short-lived coffee shop." That's how I met the vibrant force known as Cecilia Murphy.

In late 2003, Murphy contacted me to assist in helping brand her latest venture - a coffee house and cafe in the St. Johns neighborhood of North Portland. She conveyed a desire to have the business project an image of the television show Northern Exposure meeting North Portland. Some Victorian elements were to be mixed with comfortable over-stuffed furniture and a few rustic Northwest touches - including vintage mounted heads of hunted wildlife.

Her eyes twinkled as she suggested that the cafe identity might included the image of a winking moose, with long eye-lashes and a "big rack." I knew that Murphy meant antlers in this case, but her smile told me she knew exactly what she had said. Throughout our conversation the moose was referred to as "she."

After thinking about the input for a moment, I told my client that I didn't think a female moose would have antlers. Murphy quickly replied, "Well, I guess we'll have a cross-dressing moose."

I appreciated the opportunity to be totally playful with the North Bank Cafe logo project. The moose image quickly developed as a fairly cartoon-ish creature. I researched moose hoof prints, to be used as bullets in the design, and had fun playing with type possibilities, prior to settling on Horndon as my favorite primary font for my initial design concept. Still, second-guessing myself, I was a bit unsure about having possibly taken the beast too far. I included one more conservative concept in the rough designs I presented (above left).

As is the case in 85-90% of my identity design projects, the client was immediately drawn to my very first concept. With a little fine-tuning it became the final logo for the North Bank Cafe (above right).

The paperback version of Big Book of Business Cards has been released by Collins Design. The volume, by David E. Carter, showcases business card designs by Jeff Fisher for the hair and nail salon Slick, Pearl Real Estate and Jeff Fisher LogoMotives.

Fisher's logo design for the North Portland business Coyner's Auto Body (above) is showcased as an inspiration example in Retro Style Graphics. Coyner’s had been in business for 30 years without an identity. A long history in the business of passenger and race car repair conjured up an image of the nameplates, with connecting letterforms, on automobiles from the 1950’s through 1970’s. The House Industries font Bullet was the solution to creating a "retro" look in the design. The Coyner's logo also appears in the Spanish book Logos from North to South America.

The term "retro" is often used to describe trends in fashion, design, or architecture. It typically describes any item that was inspired by something from the past. Retro Style Graphics looks to the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s for inspiration and contains all of the elements a modern designer would need to create graphics in the retro style. The book is a style guide that also includes a comprehensive collection of graphics, textures, patterns, fonts, colors, Illustrator/Photoshop brushes, and a design gallery for inspiration.

"This book has it all," said author Grant Friedman, "I wanted to write a book that gives designers all the tools that they would need to produce graphics in the retro style. As a designer, I understand how much time it can take to research ideas, produce, and then implement a design in a particular style. For this book, I wanted to produce resources that would save my readers time while also ensuring that my readers could maintain full creative control over their projects."

Many in the the international design community, especially online, know author Friedman as the founder of the Colorburned.com, a popular destination for design resources, inspiration and information.

Many of my identity design projects have been redesigns of existing logos. Over the years I have been contracted many times to update or makeover the logos of businesses and organizations. My "before & after" images of such projects get a great deal of attention in my marketing packets and through previous blog entries focusing on redesign efforts. I thought I would create a visual recap of many of the design efforts - with links to previous posts offering project explanations and anecdotes. (A few of the logo explanations will be the subject of future blog entries)

Fisher's selected design was the result of a request from the Cat Adoption Team organization to participate in a pro bono effort to create a new identity for the "no-kill" feline facility. In an "a-ha" design moment, while doodling one day, the designer came up with C, A and T letterforms creating a cat image. Confidently presented to the nonprofit's appreciative marketing, advertising and design-savvy Executive Director, the identity idea still required approval of the Board of Directors. With the governing body, the concept was DOA for not being "warm and friendly enough."

The designer has received over 600 design awards and his work has been published in more than 130 books on identity design, self-promotion and the marketing of small businesses. In January, Fisher was named one of design industry publication Graphic Design USA’s “People to Watch in 2009.” In 2008, Jeff Fisher LogoMotives was recognized as one of the top 100 U.S. home-based businesses by the web presence StartupNation.

About Me

Jeff Fisher, author of "Identity Crisis!" (HOW Books, 2007), is the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives. He has been honored with over 600 regional, national and international design awards and is featured in over 140 books about logos, the design business, and small business marketing. His first book, "The Savvy Designer's Guide to Success" was released in 2004 and has been reissued as a PDF on CD from MyDesignShop.com. Other books are currently in the works. Fisher serves on the HOW Magazine Board of Advisors, HOW Design Conference Advisory Council and Art Institute of Portland Professional Advisory Council,. The designer also writes for HOW Magazine, other industry publications, and many webzines and blogs. In addition, Fisher is a nationally-recognized speaker, making numerous presentations each year to design organizations, design schools, universities and business groups. Graphic Design USA magazine named Jeff Fisher one of the design industry “People to Watch” in 2009. Fisher lives in Portland with his partner of 20+ years, Ed Cunningham.